Hey guys, I've just joined this forum and have noticed a lot of newbies around, so I thought I'd share the strategies I've used to get serious affiliates to promote your stuff. I bought into the JV myth, that if you build it, they will come, when I got started.
But I quickly realised there's a few crucial things you need to do if you want to get your stuff promoted. And these three keys all compound on each other, so it's important to get them all handled.
Key #1: Act as if affiliates don't exist.
This mind sound a bit counter intiuitive, but what would you do if there weren't any affiliates out there? You'd be forced to sell your stuff yourself, which would force you to create a sales process that actually works well. Otherwise you'd be out of business.
Far too often I've been approached by merchants wanting me to sell their stuff for them. But they've been too lazy to optimise their entire sales process. Don't make their mistake of quickly writing up some sales copy and then blasting away emails to JV partners willy nilly.
So at first, promote your stuff yourself. Build your list. Optimise the sales process. After a while, you'll have your own list and you'll be able to promote others well. Once you can successfully promote others, you will find it a million times easier to get them to promote you.
One thing you may not realise is that as someone with a list, I don't have a problem finding offers to promote. So if I get two emails from people asking me to promote them, I'm going to go with the guy who's put in the hard yards and is able to reciprocate with me.
It's not personal, it's just business.
Key #2: Build relationships.
I once asked a friend for one piece of advice about JVs. His answer: It's all about relationships. Like I mentioned in the first key, if you've got a large list, you don't have the problem of finding offers to promote.
So if you've gotta choose between two people with equal lists, you're going to end up going with the guy you have a better relationship with.
But how do you start relationships with these people? Well, you don't do it by blasting their inbox asking for a JV. You do it by helping them out first. Promote them, help them out, show them you're a player and not some wannabe.
And once you do this, make contact with them. You've got a much better chance of one of these guys replying to your emails if you say "Hey, I'm the guy who sent you 50 sales last week", than if you just ask them for something.
And once you're past this initial contact, it's all up to you and your charm
So think about what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.
Key #3: Create a quality, well positioned offer
Ok, so at last we come to the final key. If a big dog has a whole heap of people asking for a JV and they can only squeeze one person in, they're going to take all three keys into consideration. If you have a big list, that commands a certain amount of power.
If you have a big list and a good relationship with the person, that commands even more power. But the best way to guarantee a big player in your niche to promote your stuff is when you have a strong list, a good relationship with them AND you have a product that fits their list well.
So when you're creating offers, don't create stuff that already exists. Sure, if you have a big enough list or you are best friends with one of these guys, you might get away with it. But if you're just starting out, maybe a high quality, well positioned product can get you over the line...
Ok, hope that helps!
Sean
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Originally Posted by Sean Morrissy
